What Laptop Has the 'Best' Webcam? | WSJ

[@luke6350]

The reason why companies don’t invest in good laptop cameras is because tech reviewers never mention them. Good job for calling them out.

[@BlackhawkSC]

There's a few that do, TechChap and Dave2D. But yes, most reviewers ignore the webcam.

[@beverleycampbell9870]

Maybe some companies could add a great webcam in cheaper models.

[@robinwalia5361]

Our precious Linus does 😂

[@Stupranos]

Wasn’t Marques first review done with a 2010 webcam.

[@LiamMarcon]

All the tech reviewers I watch mention the cam quality.

[@jacklam6140]

Boomer: Shot videos with iPad Joanna: Shot a video with MacBook Air

[@ApplicoInc]

Logitech's C920 would be a great choice for people looking to upgrade to a good external webcam📷... Except Amazon price gougers currently want triple MSRP 🙃🤦🏼‍♀️

[@jarodventure]

Buy one from Dell website directly.. Your'e welcome

[@JohnRuble]

@@jarodventure Ship day of July 😬

[@stellamackeyloveworks]

I have one, but always end up going to my iphone instead. Everyone loves this camera.. but for me it is laggy and doesn’t track motion very well. Can’t figure out why everyone else’s looks good on reviews. I’ve messed with the settings, just doesn’t ever “flow” well for me. Maybe it’s my internet.

[@1stGruhn]

As an amateur photographer several things come to mind: 1. Low light performance can be increased by 3 things: better chips, larger pixels, and better post processing. The explanation for your older laptop doing well is that the resolution was lower: larger pixels collect more light in the same amount of time than smaller ones giving you an automatic better signal to noise ratio. Modern chips are getting better but you can only get so good when physics gets in the way: most of our gains are due to post-processing (signal decoding with respect to noise). 2. Chip producers aren't manufacturing the small camera senors fast enough for phones let lone trying to get them into laptops as well. So laptops usually get the left overs while phones get the premium chips since their photo taking ability is a primary selling point and is typically overlooked when it comes to laptops. 3. The post processing done on images is often done on its own chip in modern phones: image quality is so important that certain hardware components are dedicated to it. If its not done on its own chip, the hardware is optimized specifically for it. Laptops aren't built that way and the software is processed by the general purpose hardware on typically older drivers that aren't well optimized. 4. Bandwidth. Phones have cameras wired up to dump their info quickly and efficiently into fast cache for immediate processing. The distance the info travels is very short. Laptops on the other hand have lower bandwidth wires that typically dump the data into something like a USB header on the mother board. This adds lag to the data processing and when you crank up the resolution you bog down the system and that lag becomes quite noticeable. Video has enormous amounts of info that requires processing and the higher the resolution the more beefy the processing power. And since laptop cameras haven't been a key focus of sales, most business folk are content with subpar cameras, there isn't the demand to spruce up the feature.

[@edwinfndz]

I have a Surface Pro 4, and not only does it have an excellent camera, but it has an OUTSTANDING MARVELOUS GLORIOUS IMPECCABLE audio. Like, that thing doesn't need external mic. And the newer Surface models have studio mics which sound even better.

[@LiamMarcon]

Weird how bad the XPS cam is. I have Dell Inspiron 15 and the webcam is great.

[@adaarkc]

She is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@fallinginthed33p]

A Surface Pro or Surface Laptop webcam with a front ring light gets you excellent quality, even better than most standalone webcams.

[@burlybair]

This was a good vid on clarity. But the problem with laptop cams is they focus at 3ft. You can't move around the room or show other things around the room. We need a good resolution laptop that can focus to at least 6ft and 10ft would be more useful. Macro would be useful too. Phones can do it, so laptops should be able to.

[@MichaelBTech]

Crazy how the the $700 Pixelbook Go's "Duo Cam" is the best of out of all of them.

[@jarodventure]

Its not, this is just a terrible review

[@akhilnandakumar3564]

@@jarodventure with respect to webcams, MacBooks suck real bad

[@enriquelopez9803]

The PixelBook does not have a great WebCam. I tested it with Zoom and Google Meets. It is dark and the colors are off. Also, what you see on your end is not what people are seeing on their screens. It looks worse on their screens. The pixel book is not as good as your cell phone or your tablet.

[@beverleycampbell9870]

Thank you for making a video on built in webcams, this was so needed, brilliantly funny. The Pixel Slate has 8mp, so I was wondering if it is as good as Pixel Go. HP have a webcam called TrueVision, it doesn't look as good as Pixel. I'm undecided on what to buy between the Slate or the Go, all because of webcam.

[@getttganesh]

You are absolutely right, but can you explain this issue more details, one more reason is saving bandwidth and keeping it consistent when you have a bad internet, sure you can let users choose lower quality but majority of users will never do that and those user and majority. There is more to this I definitely love have better self cam on my laptop too.

[@BlackhawkSC]

A 720p video from bad sensors can take nearly as much bandwidth as a 720p video from good sensors. Video compression algorithms are pretty efficient these days. In fact bad video sources, especially grainy low-light videos, can cause video stream bandwidth to increase because the grainy spots can make compression inefficient.

[@mariahadams972]

Thank you! I think it's about time they all started putting decent camera on laptop

[@Jawwshoewah]

Hats off to the effort she put in making this video:)

[@mjktechgeek]

Actually the Surface Pro's and Surface Book 2's have the best webcams I have tested. They are better than any you show here. 5MP 1080P. You should try one of those.

[@user-is3wu4xo6k]

Going for the surface now !! I been looking for and good laptop

[@scottg7321]

Good video. Very enlightening including the full hd webcam

[@nchia]

I don't know how you could squeeze in a more decent front facing camera in a MacBook Air, but yeah. At least it beats the standard one on the Mac mini.

[@shimmer4771]

I use Logi 1080p webcam. It's pretty nice.

[@enriquelopez9803]

Thank you for making this excellent video. I tested the Pixelbook Go in Zoom and Google Meets. My 2 1/2 year old iPhone 6S looks better. My Ipad Pro and the Surface look much better. The webcams on laptops and Chromebooks seem to miles behind the cellphones and tablets. The PixelBook Go looked dark and gloomy. The colors were off too. Grays looked like blues. I know that it is rated as a good WebCam, but as we have all been using cell phones for years, the quality does not come close. It seems mediocre. The best results I’ve seen are with outboard WebCams. But, that is such a hassle.

[@lucasrosmano]

Really fun review!!! 😂😂😂

[@stellamackeyloveworks]

hee.. that was a fun review:) Thanks!Problem with the Mac also, is that if you are actually using it to make vids (rather than conferencing) it cuts off after like 10 mins. I need to make vids that are 15 min - 30 mins, so it is of no use. Which really is too bad, because I have found them to be the best laptop camera. And the Pixelbook Go cannot run things like Photoshop. Manufacturers PLEASE give us a “youtuber’s” laptop! One with i7, AND a great webcam that can record for over an hour! #dream

[@sanjeevk1842]

Fantastic video brings smile to the face.

[@SquishyAcePilot]

how come MacBook Pro 2010 webcam is so good in low light? :o

[@vishnu.unnikrishnan]

Thanks for uploading

[@agapesocceracademy]

Great video! Congrats! I just bought a new laptop and was very disappointed when I was about to teach a class and I looked horrible. I had to go back to do the class with my android device, but I couldn't see the kids. Do you recommend buying a an extra web cam to install it on my laptop? thanks for your feed back.

[@nrvinl]

Simply put, a logitech webcams with some lighting will help your students see you in better light😊

[@nrvinl]

Lighting plays an important role in cameras, and maybe just getting a small ring soft light will help you look better. Webcams are in short storage currentlly, which sadly doesn't help the situation

[@agapesocceracademy]

Thanks

[@Ajjfjskddj]

What laptop did you have

[@danielshaikhali5108]

That’s why you have a KZbinr set up :)

[@kamichat]

My Yoga has a surprisingly good camera. Have you use a external mic though

[@RJPhotographics]

My Yoga P40 webcam sucks. I plug in an Olympus E-M1iii and that fixes it. Not cheap or very convenient though.

[@jlryder97]

Woo hoo - GOLD STARS!!! THANK YOU!! 💖

[@Shawn.Shooter]

Apple said that new macbooks with m1 chip should have better cameras, because of more control over it's hardware (m1 chip) and it's integration with software allowed apple to boost up it's quality through the software, without even using a new camera hardware. It's like what many android phones do, they release a phone and then they release some software update increasing camera quality or just fixing camera problems. Like for example when my brother bought Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, the quality of video was really bad, then samsung released an update and the video quality got improved. So for camera's it's always hardware and software, even if you put great camera hardware but software is lacking you will get worse quality than slightly worse hardware but great software. That's how Google Pixel camera's work, they are mostly based on Google's software magic rather than putting the best sensor or overall camera hardware.

[@jaxsonzatech7527]

Asus zen book and vivobook 2 in 1 line up has terrible 480 p webcams that looks so bad which is unfortunate because I love my vivobook flip 14 with the i5 8th gen

[@_sarahbarredo]

Can I use an alternative webcam for macbook air 2020 since all people are saying that the new MBA camera is so ugly.

[@fernandosilvanz2428]

Very helpful thank you!!

[@Benvenjtos]

Hopefully for 2021 all laptops upgrades those horrible webcam if we pay $1000 o more we deserve good quality webcam ..I hope all big tech companies watch this video o send it to them

[@Jonas-ej7id]

Why did the 2010 macbook webcam have the best quality? :/ I dont understand. Is it really that difficult for oems to incorporate a selfie camera as the webcam A budger phone from 5 years ago will have better selfie cam quality as compared to expensive laptops

[@LenaHamburg]

Which Dell XPS did you test? The 2020 version?

[@stevenisk5587]

the one of the new Macbook looks similar to my webcam lol even though mine is just a lenovo laptop

[@comicsgrinder]

Your review revealed for me the awesome webcam on the PixelBook Go. I think your iPhone did an overall nice job. By the way, you NEVER want to take video with light coming from behind. NEVER.

[@ElistaSoterela]

Yessss my macbook air 2020 camera blurry

[@santosmaryelle.a8799]

How about the ideapad 3 ??

[@necromion2]

Thanks a lot was.. Soooooo helpfull

[@danielmndjr2874]

Sorry, Is it a macbook air comercial?

[@perilsensitive]

Camera bump ftw?

[@sulaimaanahmed4193]

Coronavirus has us so bored that we’re now comparing laptop webcam...which we all know the answer to just don’t use it until you really have to...

[@wabicoredesu]

i have the lenovo yoga andthe camra is 1080p soooo

[@bbnjvvhhb]

Is that bad or no?

[@270Winchester]

I thought the macbook air would have a good camera because apples kinda known for their great camera software.

[@allansh828]

meanwhile, Bill Gates uses seemingly a $50000 cinecam as his webcam

[@andrewgrey5621]

Great video, I've totally noticed in Zoom calls that by far the best image quality comes from phones (and to a lesser degree external webcams). Have been seriously disappointed by Lenovo Yoga and Surface Laptop video quality - just expected them to be good because they are both premium products. Should be a no-brainer selling point for companies to differentiate themselves moving forwards. Very engaging filming too! Thanks

[@enriquelopez9803]

I agree with you about cell phones and external webcams. You don’t think the Surface looks better? For sure, the iPad Pro looks better.

[@eskimofo9i6]

Surface Laptop 3 wins Pixel Book Go for Chromebooks

[@kotysh]

Hilarious 😂😂 loved it!

[@Je.rone_]

They're all bad isn't much of a spoiler I'd you used one or seen someone use one

[@cholententertainment6516]

I wish I could afford a MacBook

[@roboticvenom1935]

As long as it's not the air? The air is awful it's a ripoff yA GOOF

[@lucasoave2163]

I love your video joanna

[@MrJaccTrippa]

Man one time i went to the fridge and my dang webcam had a live video of me up for no reason. Ever since then, tape.

[@darkkforest]

Simply not the same processing as a phone

[@49ers_red_and_gold2]

I'm always saying cell phones are taking over. But I'm here because they still don't have what I need for phones yet still 😩

[@FaheemProductions]

Logitech Webcams are the best ones.

[@rickymarquez9776]

No Justice! 😂 What year is the XPS

[@ChristopherRauh]

that is supposed to be the 2020 model with the cam back on top of the screen.

[@zakarianajim9029]

I have nothing ❤

[@johnmonk66]

Microsoft Surface Go beats them all for 300 dollars

[@marctestarossa]

This is just a joke. Sitting in an online class for university, looking at 15 - 20 faces on zoom and they just all LOOK LIKE ****. I can't get my head around why ALL manufacturers still put these super sh***y webcams in their sometimes several thousand € machines... I mean seriously, they are just a bad joke. And no matter what they tell you about super duper machine learning A.I. blockchain neural network snake oil they use to improve the image of your webcam. It still looks like it's shot with an Xperia mini or iPhone 3GS or something. I just don't get it. They spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on making the devices 0.1 mm thinner but a feature like the webcam is still on ancient technology. My girlfriend just bought a new phone for only 180 €, it has FOUR!!! cameras built in, three on the back and one in the front, giving you standard, tele and superwide angles. And every single one of them is more advanced and has better image quality than this ONE!!! sh***y webcam we get on laptops these days that cost up to 3000 €. What a laugh. Rant over.

[@andreylucass]

>new keyboard

[@antoniomartins2900]

What I'm always talking about! Why don't they upgrade the cameras on the laptops! OMG! the screen size of a laptop and a phone is the same, they could even put a 4k camera on a laptop with they would, they already have on some phones, is that difficult to put on a laptop! Also please shoot in 4k or 8k please.

[@rishikajaiswal4338]

Does laptop has an inbuilt webcam?

[@MarkDanielLouwe]

how about Samsung laptops?

[@outerwings]

You're very cool 😎

[@auro1986]

so laptop webcam is not good for girls getting naked

[@jasonfanclub4267]

My 2k Zenbook is a top notch notebook but the webcam is a joke

[@plusrien12]

I thought you're going to give us an easy cheat... it's okay, you helped me waste my time

[@marctestarossa]

And guess what, apple just released a very revolutionary new series of Macbooks. And guess what, the webcam still sucks.

[@supercintanegra]

Otherwise perfect 😂😂😂😂

[@crashweaverda]

Thats because you need to remove the tape you used to cover it so the hackers don't see ya.

[@imjustsomeguy]

I use my Samsung Galaxy S10 as wireless webcam for Zoom. So far I streamed 700GB to my PC just to have the best video quality in the class 😆

[@shashankkothari8066]

How bro? my classes are starting from today and I also have a Samsung Galaxy and a powerful HP laptop.😅

[@Bodybuildingleague]

Do you link you phone to your windows laptop and use it as an external webcam from Windows ?

[@samuelnguma72]

@@Bodybuildingleague Watch a video on KZbin type how to use your phone as a webcam on your PC.

[@Samantha_C1]

@@Bodybuildingleague How do you do that, connect phone to webcam?

[@AmanShaikh-mw8eo]

Iphone is not a web cam what is wrong with this women

[@GURken]

mac air is worthless today and you call its price reasonable?

[@faizanpatel4130]

NONE

[@marijali9541]

🤨

[@youtubebeliever8047]

👍👍👍👌👌👌👌

[@potatomatop9326]

Who uses a laptop?

[@abenigold7003]

People with online business who travel the world maybe

[@robinyonzon8110]

Laptop cameras suck.

[@chinchunling5216]

LAGGY

[@arrivalsantoniyus6337]

🇺🇸🇻🇮🇺🇸11:26 p.m. 472020 🇵🇱👑🇫🇷👑👑🇬🇧👑🇩🇪to whom it may concern,prof santoniyus, arrival julansen b.sc., m.b.a., h.c., ph. d. in. progress 🇺🇸🇻🇮🇺🇸

[@kamalagurung6781]

MY LAST LIKE MADE THIS VID 1K LIKES IM SO HAPPY HEHE

[@tiagopaim3060]

Well, stop acting like Apple is the only thing on earth and you might find some good webcams

[@moneyobsessed]

Remember when WSJ used to make good content? I don't

[@oliversakic5907]

SECOND

[@jarodventure]

What are you talking about. the XPS13 camera is sensational. Are you blind?

[@VibesInMotion]

Jarod are you blind? That thing did terribly, the colours were garbage and the exposure was way off 90% of the time

[@chullupa]

I see Joanna Stern. I dislike.

[@sebastianfonseca6819]

FAKE NEWS! Go back to slandering KZbinrs for not agreeing to your beliefs! This video shows you run out of ideas. why listen to a journalist who has little knowledge of technology rather than someone like LinustechTips MKBHD Austin Evens who dedicate their channel for creating content about technology.. WSJ just stick with business and Politics. All in all, you are a dying company that sells outdated sources of media (newsletters).Goodluck

[@MidnightRaindrops]

Sebastian Fonseca just don’t watch it lol

[@sebastianfonseca6819]

@@MidnightRaindrops I watch WSJ for its business and politics content they been producing that type of content for years which is why I subscribe to their channel

[@thesexiestvoiceasmr-erotic1773]

Who else is watching while being stuck at home because of Corona? 🏡